Suni Lee Is the Female Athlete of the Year
Olympic gymnast and gold medalist Suni Lee was catapulted to mainstream fame this summer after her successful Olympic journey. She can now add another accolade to her lengthy yet impressive resume as she was awarded Sports Illustrated’s Female Athlete of the Year.
In her acceptance speech, she thanked her coach, family, and community for the support throughout her journey. Lee is the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition. Lee said, “I just want to say thank you to the Hmong community, my parents, my sister who is in the crowd with me, my coaches as well. I’m so thankful for this,”
You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. – Olympic champion Suni Lee, 2021 Sports Illustrated Athlete of the Year #SIAwards pic.twitter.com/rAQSRPeGrg— Llanesca T. Panti (@llanescajourno) December 8, 2021
During her speech, the 18-year-old also revealed that she was close to quitting gymnastics prior to the 2021 Olympics. Lee stated, “It was just really hard for me to stay motivated…But I think the one thing that kept me going was my parents and my coaches for pushing me to be my best every single day.”
Suni Lee did all of this in just the last six months. pic.twitter.com/By1Xc4JdZx— The Medal Count (@TheMedalCount_) December 8, 2021
Later on that night, Lee took to Instagram to share her gratitude for the honor and reminded others that hard work is always worth it.
She wrote, “so extremely blessed to have won The @sportsillustrated Female Athlete of the year ❤️ thank you to everyone who has supported me along this journey. i hope to be an example to those who have a passion for something, but don’t always have the tools and support system needed to do so. remember.. you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. this year has been a dream come true & it’s just the beginning !💕”
It’s been a fantastic year for Suni Lee. From her historic Olympic win to taking the Dancing With the Stars floor while keeping up with college life and now what looks like a successful upcoming college gymnastics season at Auburn University, Lee is a reminder to all of us that with a strong work ethic, anything is possible.
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